In prior nuclear medicine or gamma ray camera systems, the scintillation camera head or radioisotope detector and the patient support, typically a table, are separate, independent apparatus. While such scintillation camera systems have existed for about two decades now, performing to a greater or lesser degree satisfactorily, the advances in resolution in newer systems have created greater requirements in precision alignment between the detector and the patient support. This has been particularly noticeable as nuclear camera systems have been used more and more for generating tomographic images by rotation of the detector about the patient, in addition to the more conventional static imaging. One such nuclear camera system capable of both whole body static imaging as well as emission computed tomography or ECT, is the Omega 500 system available from Technicare Corporation, Solon, Ohio 44139, and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,578 to Bradcovich, et al.
In general, all prior nuclear camera systems known to applicants, whether or not including ECT capability, feature a cantilevered table separate from the imaging apparatus. All such systems suffer in image quality from unwanted motion between the patient support and the detection device. In an ECT-type system, unwanted motion is contributed by mechanical flexure in the cantilevered patient support, mechanical flexure from the rotating cantilevered structure supporting the scintillation detector or camera head and from a lack of precision alignment between the two, particularly during rotation of the camera head.